Tag: property search engine

The LoopNet widget, LoopLink, allows you to display your property listings on your website. Its plug-and-play design automatically pulls data on your listing over to your website.

But, unlike other other options on the market, it offers limited features and flexibility.

There are many alternatives to LoopLink available, some of which offer much more control over how listings look and behave.

Let’s take a look at how LoopLink works, and why an alternative might be a better fit for your needs.

What is LoopLink?

LoopLink is a simple “one size fits all” widget that is embedded on your commercial real estate website to display your LoopNet property listings. When visitors view details of a listing, the information opens directly on the LoopNet platform.

It uses the same technology which LoopNet uses on its own website to display properties. They’ve built it so that companies can use the LoopNet API to install the LoopNet WordPress plugin on their own website.

When the widget is displayed on your site, you can add and update properties on LoopNet, and it will automatically push to your website – and its network of property listing sites.

Benefits of using LoopLink

The ease of LoopLink means that you can get more done, simply by keeping the process of listing your property as easy as possible. Everything is updated in the same dashboard and updates automatically, which is one less thing for you to worry about when making any changes.

You also don’t need any complex technical knowledge to use LoopLink. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never used an API, or even know what one is. All you need to do is install the LoopNet WordPress plugin and decide where to put the widget on your site.

Disadvantages of LoopLink

Although the LoopLink search widget provides an effective solution for those who want something basic and don’t mind sending all of their website visitors to external listing pages (instead of their own company website), there are some downsides to LoopLink to consider.

Although the LoopLink search widget provides an effective solution for those that want something basic and don’t mind sending all of their website visitors to LoopNet listing pages (instead of their own company website), there are also some downsides to LoopLink to consider:

❌  “Canned” widget for all customers

LoopLink offers a one-size-fits all widget. That means you have limited options to get it to fit your needs, and limited options to alter its appearance.

❌  No customization of layout, styles or features

LoopLink only offers a handful of design options for how you can display a property. You may find none of these fit the design of your website, but you don’t have any other options.

❌  Sends all visitors to external LoopNet pages (not your domain)

Instead of allowing visitors to view the listing on your website, they’re redirected to external LoopNet pages if they’d like more information.

❌  Additional monthly cost

LoopNet charges a monthly fee to use the service and embed it on your website. That means, as soon as your subscription ends, you lose access to all its features on LoopNet and on your website.

Alternatives to LoopLink

What if you want better customizations? Or retain your visitors on your own website? Or better SEO visibility?

If these are important and you want to display your properties on your own website, then you might consider the following options:

1) Custom developed solution
2) Turnkey platform like SharpLaunch

Let’s dive into the benefits of each option:

1. Custom developed solution

With a customized listing search solution, the sky is the limit.

An experienced web agency can develop just about anything you can dream of as an alternative to LoopLink. Whether a basic portfolio display or a highly complex listings search engine completely tailored to your requirements that seamlessly integrates with your website. This means that you can replace the LoopLink widget to keep your visitors on your website and have absolute control of your property listings.

The biggest downsides of a custom solution to consider:

❌   Takes months to develop
Building custom solutions is a time-consuming process. You could be looking several quarters into the future before you even have a beta product to use. If you’re in need of something sooner rather than later, this isn’t ideal.

❌   Costly implementation fees
Outsourcing software development to a web agency may mean you get a custom product, but it’s also an expensive endeavour.

❌   Manual maintenance
Every website and app needs maintenance. A custom solution means you need to pay someone to maintain that software on a regular basis.

Example: grid display

 

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can display your listings on your website, get in touch!

Your company’s “Properties” page is the single most valuable digital asset you own.

Displaying your properties on your company website provides a great value to your prospective clients (buyers, tenants, partners), helps boost engagement and elevates your brand awareness.

There are several ways to add property listings to your website, but which is the best option?

In the past, displaying property listings required the involvement of a web development agency that could develop a completely tailored solution. However it is prohibitively expensive and time-consuming for many commercial real estate companies.

Due to these barriers, some existing third party CRE portals started offering subscription-based widgets that can be embedded in your website with an iframe, sending visitors to external pages, away from your domain. Apart from that, the major downside of these solution is the lack of customization options and poor SEO for your own website. While they serve the basic function of listing properties on your website, they don’t help in other key areas.

That’s where the SharpLaunch Property Search Engine comes in, using a “white label” approach that uses an API to connect your property inventory directly with your company website through a WordPress plugin.

Let’s take a closer look at what it offers and how to get one installed on your website.

What is the SharpLaunch Property Search Engine?

The SharpLaunch Property Search Engine pulls all of your property listing information through a data feed (API) and displays it on your website, allowing visitors to search within your portfolio, click on individual properties, and view information about them directly on your own website.

Because it uses a WordPress plugin instead of an embedded iFrame, it becomes part of your website and is better for both user experience and search engine optimization.

It also includes a variety of customization options, to give you the freedom to design the user experience based on your branding and design preferences, and seamlessly integrate with your company website. You can select from different layout options (maps, grid and list views), dynamic search filters and various sorting options.

How Does It Work?

The SharpLaunch Property Search Engine utilizes a database of property information that can be updated inside of a content management system. The API allows all the listing data entry and management to be completed in one CMS.

When a change is made to a listing or a new property is added, the API automatically updates the property listing information displayed in the listing on your website. This keeps the instance of your Property Search Engine and the individual listings updated at all times, reducing management time and guaranteeing accuracy.

The Property Search Engines provides the first-class search experience that your visitors expect while keeping them on your site. You can subsequently cross-list your properties without a third party site involved, reducing the risk of competing properties appearing in the same search results.

Why Do You Need It?

With the SharpLaunch Property Search Engine, you can control exactly which properties your prospective tenants or investors see, when they see those properties, and the information you want to provide them.

By eliminating third-party tools that take visitors off of your website, ensuring a fully responsive mobile experience, and customizing your property search engine to match your branding, you elevate your entire website user experience and provide accurate information for your prospects.

This has a number of benefits, including:

• Higher visitor retention rate
  By utilizing a search engine that displays property listings on your website, you can move prospects on your website and away from outside sites like LoopNet where they will see other listings alongside yours. This keeps them on your website and property sites for longer.
• Improve brand consistency
  Unlike some apps or widgets, a custom property search engine allows you to adjust key settings to match your website’s branding, seamlessly integrating it into the user experience. It is embedded on a specific page of the site and becomes a part of the site’s structure, including your custom menu and footer.
• Maximize search engine optimization
  The content displayed in your property listings is unique to your website. This can have a positive impact on your efforts to improve the ranking of your property listings and your company website in Google search results.

Learn more about how a commercial property search engine works and how you can start leveraging it on your website to house your properties and improve your overall user experience.